The Rios Montt Genocide Trial in Guatemala

The ongoing trial of Rios Montt represents the first time a national court has tried a former head of state for genocide and war crimes. Guatemala's former dictator Rios Montt and his military intelligence chief, Jose Mauricio Rodriguez, have been on trial since March for the deaths of some 1,700 Maya-Ixil people during the 1982-83 period, when Montt was head of state and defense minister, and the army waged a brutal counter-insurgency campaign in the area. The trial has featured hundreds of eyewitnesses, dozens of national and foreign experts, and a dizzying array of procedural twists and turns. (The off-the-record remarks made via Skype by Guatamalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey at this panel discussion have been excluded from this recording.)